Anthropic staff told to work from home due to risk of possible security strikes

Security contractors at Anthropic were reportedly preparing to strike, but there's been no evidence so far Physical security personnel are important as AI spend rises and worker threats emerge Anthropic employees were told to work from home as a precautionary measure Anthropic has told workers in its San Francisco offices to work from home temporarily over personal security fears following reports that security guards responsible for protecting the facilities could go on strike.

The AI firm's security contractor, Allied Universal, recently warned that its security employees may strike, but ongoing mixed messaging left Anthropic taking the WFH measures as a precautionary move instead of a reaction to an actual walkout.

Per the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents many of Allied Universal's workers, no strike authorisation vote had been called.

Anthropic warns of security worker strike impact The union also claimed not to have threatened a strike on these particular days, leading Anthropic's reaction to come as a surprise to the union itself.

However, the concerns aren't totally unfounded, with an underlying labor dispute ongoing.

SEIU has been engaged in contract negotiations with Allied Universal and other California security companies since around April 2026, seeking higher wages, better healthcare benefits and more comprehensive job training for the thousands of workers it represents.

Neither Allied Universal nor Anthropic have commented on the ongoings.

Importantly, Anthropic itself doesn't play an integral part in the worker negotiations, being just the employer of a third-party security company.

As for the landscape more broadly, security spending has risen sharply in recent years as companies seek to protect more valuable equipment, in light of major AI investments.

Anthropic, at the forefront of AI investments and with its leading model families, could well be one of the biggest spenders in this category.

Despite no evidence of a strike, Anthropic's decision to send workers home for two days would have minimized impacts virtually entirely, making it a smart precautionary move.

Its workers are currently required to be in office around 25% of the time, per Business Insider .

Unwelcome news for Anthropic The news comes as Anthropic could be on the cusp of becoming a publicly traded company.

Current WSJ reporting points to the company boasting of potential revenue opportunities of more than $30 trillion, putting it ahead of SpaceX's $28.5 trillion estimate.